Quality children's literature at the heart of all learning

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Key Stage Two Collections

About the core booklist

The Core Booklist has been published by CLPE since 1996. It is a selection of carefully chosen texts for teachers to use when they are developing collections for their classrooms and schools as part of their reading and literacy programmes.Read more...

Key Stage 2

In Key Stage Two we have split the collections into two age groups. Year 3/4 (ages 7-9) and Year 5/6 (9-11).

Learning to Read

At Key Stage Two the 'Learning to Read' collection has been specially chosen to support the reading of children who are still inexperienced readers, or who are having some difficulty in reading. The books chosen include:

memorable texts that feature repetition and encourage predictions

texts within which rhythm and rhyme are important

texts that allow children to practice and apply their phonic knowledge

books with strong story shapes and structures

texts which positively reflect children's interests and backgrounds

books with supportive illustrations

books that draw attention to written language and to the ways books work

Literature Collection

These are books which will form the basis of a literature curriculum and the collection has been designed to introduce children to a growing range of texts. Whilst some children in the class may not be able to read all the books independently, an important function of the collection is to give them access to a wider range of titles, authors and genres that they might otherwise meet. For more experienced readers, this collection offers an increasingly challenging range of material for individual or group reading. Books in this collection are likely to be:

texts that are multi-layered - capable of being read at different levels

books that deal with important themes

books in which language is used in lively, inventive ways

books by skilful and experienced children's writers and illustrators

traditional and contemporary 'classics' of children's literature

stories with different cultural settings

texts that promote discussion and reflection

Information Collection

Information books have their own collection as they often don't fit into either of the other collections. These are high quality information texts which are interesting and enjoyable. All the information books in the core collection show how the text and pictures can work together to provide comprehensive information and an enjoyable reading experience.

There is no attempt to place books according to 'levels of difficulty' within each collection. Categorising books in this way is an inexact and artificial process. This sort of grading would also be an unnecessary constraint on choice - one of the main purposes of the collections is to enable children to develop individual preferences as readers.